AlternateMechanics/DSAlternateMartialArts

FourWillowsWeeping/TheCastelessAbility was the inspiration for this. That, and Naruto- in which EVERYTHING is a Martial Art.

Martial Arts is a Casteless Ability, which everyone can use equally. It is the natural way in which Essence wants to move- the Zen of the universe, in other words. Therefore, Martial Arts is capable of enhancing any action taken, in much the same way as a being's Essence.

(In my games, Martial Arts is ususally replaced with Tactics. However, this isn't always thematically appropriate. It's fine for the Dawn and Dusk Castes, Earth Aspect and the War section of Lunar Abilities. However, the Chosen of Endings take away Martial Arts and get Brawl, while the Chosen of Battles take away Brawl and get Tactics.)

Having a high Martial Arts puts you more in tune with the metaphysics of everything. You act more rightly and surely, with greater certainty. Watching two characters with a high degree of Martial Arts engage in a contest is to watch beauty itself, embodied in their flowing motions.

This translates to Martial Arts acting as a universal die bonus. A character may spend a Willpower to add their Martial Arts in dice to any other action they take, a number of times equal to their Martial Arts a story. This is in addition to their Virtue dice, but is otherwise functionally the same. Further, if they channel their Martial Arts in this fashion while in a Form-type Charm, it does not count against their limited number of times.

Martial Arts Charms are a special case- they tap into this universal nature of Essence and emphasize one aspect of it, emulating it explicitly. They are still based upon another Ability, but also require a certain degree of Martial Arts mastery.

Martial Arts is rated from 1 to 5. All characters start with 1 dot of Martial Arts, and may increase that for 3 Bonus Points or Current Rating x3 experience. Martial Arts Charms have the same precise requirements as they are currently written, but will use another Ability in place of Martial Arts, going with the most appropriate Ability available. As a general rule, a unarmed Martial Arts attack or defense uses Dexterity + Brawl, and an armed Martial Arts attack of defense uses Dexterity + Melee.

This is ANY reference to Martial Arts in the charm Description itself. So...

So, for Snake Style...
Striking Combra Technique: Athletics instead of Martial Arts as the initative bonus.
Serpentine Evasion: Dodge instead of Martial Arts as the base dodge.
Snake Form: Athletics added to Initative, Resistance added to Bashing Soak.
Snake Strikies the Heel: Counterattack made of Brawl + attack successes, not Martial Arts
Crippling Pressure-Point Strike: Standard Brawl attack, not Martial Arts.
Uncoiling Serpent Prana: Make a Standard Brawl attack up to Essence yards away, not Martial Arts.
Striking Serpent Speed: Roll the character's Brawl, not Martial Arts. Every success is an extra action.
Essence Venom Strike: Make a standard Brawl attack, not Martial Arts.

Comments

I think if you're going to do this, you have to abandon the current MA Charm structure entirely and run it exactly the way that other Virtue-based Charms are run, since you're treating it like a Virtue in almost all other ways. Resultantly, all MA Charms will be implicitly Ability-dependent, but you won't necessarily have to be very good at anything else to have cool fu. Which I think is proper, in the context of the rest of your system - willows

Mm... Not sure I quite follow. Why couldn't the Ability requirements of current MA Charms be kept at the same level, but switched to the most appropriate Ability- typically the Dawn Ability of Choice, Dodge, Athletics, or Occult?

Although there could be a certain amount of 'MA serves as theoretical knowledge of how to do things, vs the practical knowledge of Ability', which the Implicit reliance reflects well... DS

To my eyes, you're essentially proposing that MA is a fifth Virtue, and saying that Charms should be based on it as well as Abilities. I think that that method's bad the same way I would think a Charm based on Socialize and Conviction is bad. IIRC, we disagree on the issue of multiple prereq dotstats, so I'll leave that at that. - willows

Ahh. Fair enough. Well, this not being an idea I'm deeply tied to, am I understanding what you mean by 'implicit' need correctly? That is, MA as an Ability would still go away, but the requirements for Charms wouldn't change all- just the dice that get rolled? Such that an attack would roll Dex+Brawl, a dodge would roll Dex+Dodge, and a complicated jutsu that destroyed a spell would be Dex+Occult? DS

Yeah, you are... I think I initially meant to be more explicit about that, but forgot to. - willows

So, Dim and I were kicking around this idea in the car on the way to pick up the Player's Guide. Treat Martial Arts like a Virtue, use the Implicit Ability relationship you suggested. However, if a character assumes a Form type Charm, they may spend a Willpower to add their Martial Arts to any action relating to that Form's theme or style, without it counting against the limited number of uses. Thus, the Masters may bust out the mad fu now and again, but to really see it spin crazy, they have to assume their Forms. This also provides a slight additional perk of Martial Arts, which had started to feel a little droopy. DS

That sounds fun and cool. (And just a little scary; does that mean that you can pop a Willpower and a most of Flickering Candle Meditation to dodge at 2+MA dice with MA free successes with the Fire Dragon Form? Shit.) - willows

I think the Nobilis standard of Power is not inapplicible to Exalted- when it sounds a little scary, you're probally at the sweet spot. :) Yes, that's what that means. Frankly, I could see better uses for my Willpower most of the time, but it also helps cover Martial Arts general lack of dice adders (certain Purple Bonfires of Sadness being exempted ;) DS

Rock. - willows